Ok...I just wanted to 'talk' I guess--and I want to hear how everyone is doing overall!
BEST--this week I've been cleaning--getting a jumpstart on nesting I guess. I have so much to do, so I've decided to do the stuff I won't feel like doing once I get bigger. I have spent the last 4 days cleaning (eat your heart out Flylady.com!) the downstairs--about 6 hrs each day. I think I got all of the dust!
WORST--I haven't done any walking or any schooling for my dd...she has been in front of the tv a LOT more than normal since I've been cleaning. I've also had a LOT of sugary foods--donuts, cake, etc. I think I am telling myself I 'deserve' it. Another worst is that my dh just deployed...guess that is why I'm cleaning to keep busy!

I was going to ask you when he had to deploy, Bobbi, because I remember you saying that he wouldn't be here for the birth. to you!

Good - prenatal appointment Monday. Doc is great with me staying on the odd weeks (so I avoid the big city clinic - woo hoo!), baby was moving everywhere - so I never got a heartbeat check (she tried with the Dopple and the fetoscope! She heard it for a couple seconds, but s/he moved too quickly to count) We came to the consensus: it moves, it kicks, it makes me pee... I'm pregnant Also, my best friend, her hubby, and their 5 month old are staying with us for 2.5 weeks... SO NICE!

Bad - my son decided to boycott sleep yesterday - even with me in bed with him. No nap, really broken night time sleep, "breakfast" at 4 AM, and BEASTLY all day. Thankfully I haven't heard a peep from him since bedtime tonight - I'm hoping it stays that way. Also, my best friend's family - it's so great to have them here, but I also need some time to myself, too... but I'm not complaining too much because they're moving to Ghana in January... so I don't know when I'll next see them (and they won't get to meet Zy, either).

Great idea Bobbi! Want to come and clean over here too? I'll make cookies.....

Best: well, I think I'm probably nesting! It's suddenly become imperative that I have as much as possible ready for the babe, and that I'm happy with the house : I bought the babe some new undershirts yesterday, as I had given all of dd's little ones away, and I can't wait to have those washed and put away ready. The weather has cooled down a bit, and it's nice and breezy, so it feels great to sit outside and just let the air wash over me. I have persuaded the Oil company that they need to come and install the new furnace next week, NOT next month (our furnace was condemned just over a month ago...it was responsible for the CO poisoning that dd and I had last winter ), so I know that we will have safe, efficient heating in this winter and I won't have to rely as much on the woodstoves...thank goodness for the line of credit : Oh, and my mum will be here in 2 weeks time....she's just coming for 10 days (which is the right amount of time for use to spend together) and it will be so great for her to spend some time with dd - who's very very excited about having decorated Grandma's room :

Worst: Did I mention the line of credit???? : it's never a great time to have to spend $6000 on something...and it feels as though financially we are just going backwards - a little scary when there's another babe on the way. I have to meet with my psychiatrist (who is a *gem*, but that's a whole other thread!) about tapering off some meds, and adding in another to keep my mood as stable as possible postpartum - but there's just not a huge amount of data around, so it's hard to feel really comfortable. I suspect we'll be testing my breastmilk again so we can add some data to these studies...had to do that with dd too, and it actually felt really really good to know that hopefully more women would be able to breastfeed once the results were known.Still, it's a concern, and an unknown - and I really *suck* at not knowing

Overall though, I feel healthy, happy and blessed...and joyful to be surrounded by a magical dd, and a busy little babe kicking away under my ribs

Good - My sacrum has been FINE for the last couple weeks while my chiro was on maternity leave. I was super worried that I wouldn't be able to make it to Sept. 6 when my next appt is (3 weeks after my last adjustment, when I've been going at least weekly, and sometimes twice a week), but she squeezed in one last adjustment day before she had the baby, and she adjusted my femur, as I was having some new pain in certain positions. Since then, I've felt REALLY GOOD. I can't wait to tell her on Sept. 6!!!

Bad - My DS had a sleep strike with associated fussiness/tantrums in the last week too. Friday, he woke up at 7am, and he NEVER GOT TIRED all day. It was really freaky! This is a boy who usually sleeps 3 hours in the afternoon still! I tried putting him down for a nap around 2pm, and at 3:30pm, he was still babbling and playing and reading books, occasionally knocking on the door of his room (he doesn't know how to turn the knob yet, thankfully)... I finally gave up and brought him down and he was very happy and playful. He ended up not going to bed until 8pm (usual bedtime is 7pm). Well, the next few days, he was a holy terror because of the lack of sleep. And I think he might be about to get his 2 year molars as well - I can see the gums are swollen in a tooth shape back there. So this weekend, he was some demon alien child, but the last couple days he was back to normal sleeping patterns and pretty much happy, good natured child like he usually is. But man... the tantrums for no reason can *really* get on your nerves when you're pregnant... Especially since he's like Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde - one minute is on the floor crying, and the next minute he's up saying something happy. :

Mama to Tornado Boy (6/04), The Brute (11/06), and Mischief (05/09)... expecting To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. in February '15

Good... I too have been cleaning... and not just cleaning up but deept cleaning... the house actually looks presentable at the moment... I wouldn't even be ashamed to have someone walk in!!!

Bad... My hips are killing me... I have trouble walking and I am in so much pain... At least my Sciatic nerve is better though... the Chiro has done wonders!!! Hope that he can help me with the hips now...

This is a great thread! I'm enjoying reading all your challenges and positive things - It's a nice way to get to know y'all better!

Happy - we had Meet the Teacher night last night, and Henry LOVED her. She's a doll, and I think he's going to like going to the new program. He'll be starting Mother's Day Out twice a week for 2 1/2 hours each morning next week. I'm freaked out, since this is his first official school of any sort, and I stay home, so it'll be his first time away from me on a regular basis. Good for both of us, I know it, but I'm still dealing with some sadness. Also happy - we finally made a decision to remove his molluscum, and we're going to the doctor this morning. I'm glad he won't have to deal with them anymore, but see the bad for the rest...

Bad - The doc is going to actually curettage them off, so it's going to be a real challenge for me. I think H is going to weather it fine, he's a tough kid and from everything I read, it doesn't hurt, but apparently it's going to look really bad with lots of blood and I'm not sure how I'll handle it. The nice thing is that if we get one minute into it and he's screaming and crying, I'm gathering him up and running out of there, so I'm not going to subject him to anything that's going to scare or hurt him, I'm just not. But, if he can handle it, and I can handle it, and we can get these molluscum to go away after a year of fighting them, then I will be so happy, and I can post again next week in the happy thread that they're gone!

The Good: I am feeling pretty darn good. I have all my birth supplies on a cart in my bedroom so I have one less thing to think about. I also have washed and folded all the newborn dipes and baby clothes. I also started back to work this week (I'm a teacher, I teach one class of prek) and after having so much time off this summer I'm happy to be back for these two months. I have a challenging class with only 9 kids but all but two have special needs. Getting to know them is exciting!

The bad: I am unmotivated to much of anything around the house right now and leads me to guilt central! I am so good at getting stuff done and now...I get 1/2 way through a task and sit down for two hours.

Eden , working on a PhD in Education mama to Laurelle (16), Ori (6), Yarrow (4) and Linus (1) partner to Brice.

Good
I've been going through my massive to do lists, I've crossed alot off so am feeling a little more relaxed and less frantic about all the stuff I have to finish in a short time. We are leaving tonight for a long weekend trip. We are headed to Denver where DH just has to work one day and then 75% of the trip is payed for by the client. DD is so excited, she loves to stay in hotels. I took a 2 hour nap with dd yesterday, who NEVER naps, so I'm still in heaven over that. I finished getting together my birth kit, it's all setting in my closet, it felt so good to get all my supplies together.

Bad
Everyone in my house (except DH because he refuses to touch any of us) has ringworm. Our new kitten passed it along, my poor dog is coated in it because he loves to snuggle with the kitten. DD has it on her arms, legs, and chest, then she snuggles with me at night and gives it to me in places where it should not be. At the same time, I've come down with body acne, it's not right to have BOTH ringworm and pimples on your much larger butt. Getting comfortable at night is impossible now, it takes me forever to find a position that isn't painful. I haven't been able to take my daily walks since dd came down with a cold the other day (first one of the season, I can't believe it's already starting to be fall here), so I've been getting leg cramps at night. And if I get one more comment of "oh, you're pg, you can't be that pg, you are too small." I am going to scream. : Yes, I'm pg, I'm 31 weeks, no I don't feel small at all, this is just how I carry my babies. I'm bigger then I was at this point with dd, but I have gotten twice the comments this time.

I love this thread! As a newcomer here, it is such a wonderful way to get to know everyone!

Good: I am no longer feeling unrelenting pressure in my midriff! My DD received a toy from her aunt and uncle and she LOVES it -- she is 2 and played with it for over an HOUR yesterday. This morning, right after she got up, she rediscovered it and yelled, "THIS is a GREAT toy! I love it!" We have made progress in getting the nursery cleaned out (we just moved to this house and it had become a catch all for a month) and are getting lots of other things done and put away, too. We finally have a working local phone (don't ask !

Bad: We don't know why I had the symptoms I had from Sat-Mon. My Gram had knee replacement surgery and she is in a lot of pain. The unrest in the world disconcerts me -- esp. in the wee hours of the morning.

Hello 3rd trimester Mamas! Does everyone else still feel like it's going by really fast? November doesn't seem so far away anymore, but I keep reminding myself that the last month is going to feel like forever (at least if it's anything like the last month of my last pregnancy).

The good: At this point in my pregnancy last time I was measuring full-term (for a singleton), and was on bedrest. This time I feel GREAT, and can still pretty much forget that I'm pregnant most of the time (until I bend down to try and pick something up off the floor, lol). I finally made up my mind about whether or not to have a homebirth (something that has been stressing me out from the start), and I decided not to. I still feel sad about not getting to use my homebirth midwives, but I had a great prenatal with the hospital midwife last week. The VBAC stats for the hospital I will be birthing at couldn't be better (100% success rate in the last year), and I am feeling much more relaxed about the birth knowing that I will be in the hospital. Also, because we no longer have to pay for a homebirth, we have a tiny bit of money (we really couldn't afford the homebirth anyway, but I was willing to do into debt for it) for me to spend on seeing a chriopracter and an acupuncturist. I started with the chiro this morning and will go twice a week for the rest of my pregnancy. I will probably start with the acupuncture next week and go weekly until 38 weeks when I'll up the frequency. I really want to do everything I can to increase my chances for an unmedicated vaginal birth. My biggest concern is that I won't go into labor before 42 weeks (family history of "late" babies), so I'm hoping that chiropractic and acupuncture will help!

The bad: Feeling sad about giving up on my homebirth dream (even though it puts my mind at ease to plan a hospital birth because we live so far from the hospital), and about not getting to keep seeing my amazing homebirth midwives. My kids have also been sleeping pretty poorly unless they're in our bed, in which case I sleep really poorly. I feel anxious about how the sleeping situation will work when the babe is here. We've really outgrown our king-sized bed. Dw starts grad. school next week (which is nothing like having her be deployed. . . Mrs_Hos), and it's going to be a huge change for our family. Especially since we've gotten used to having her home all summer (she was a teacher before).

Happy end of summer to all!

Lex

Mindfully mothering SIX kids (ages 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 & 12) in a small house with a lot of love.

Good: dd and I have really worked through her tantrum issues while my dh has been away and we are much happier with each other. She's also fully weaned (although still missing the nurses) and that makes being pregnant easier for me. Paying a nice sitter a portion of what I make at my little part time job has also been worth it for my sanity. :

Bad: dh has been up in Alaska helping my mom move... she's coming here to live with us (yes, in my house!) and I'm starting to get anxious about having to deal with either of them. Parenting by yourself is hard, but as a knocked-up-tired-toddler-mama I have not minded only having me, dd and the pregnancy to care for. Plus, I can plan my days with only me in mind and the house and yard is always exactly how I left it (I guess I have a few control issues...). I am actually amazingly efficient and well organized on my own. Now I'm nervous about holding my sanity together with my mom and dh in the house with me. Guess I should have thought about this before now, huh?!!:

Oh yes, the 'new baby' as Cecilia calls 'him': growing well, making me large : and head down. I'm happy with my midwife, backup dr and little hospital where we'll have 'him'. I've made the no-circ thing clear and I have a few names that my dh can choose from when we see the baby. I'm pretty certain on the names and that's a relief!

Bad... My hips are killing me... I have trouble walking and I am in so much pain... At least my Sciatic nerve is better though... the Chiro has done wonders!!! Hope that he can help me with the hips now...

Is it the outside of your hips? The new pain I was having was the very outside of my right hip. When I'd crawl on the floor, it would hurt really bad in that whole hip socket area. Also, when I'd try sitting on the floor and just scooting forward on my bottom, it would hurt the same way. And it was hurting on the outside of my hip when walking. So basically, moving along the floor (like to pick up toys and such) was very painful, and walking wasn't great either. I told my chiro about this, she muscle tested for my femur, and then did some adjustments with my knee in the air. I've been good for almost 2.5 weeks so far, and previously I had only made it 1 week between adjustments ONCE.

Mama to Tornado Boy (6/04), The Brute (11/06), and Mischief (05/09)... expecting To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. in February '15

Good- also nesting here. I went through all my tubs of clothes, sorted folded, organized labeled. I am good on cloth diapers but alarmed to see that I have not one NB or small cover: DD 2 has an obscene amount of winter clothes for this year, plus I found a whole bunch of summer stuff that I forgot to pull, oops. If new baby is a boy, I will have a bunch of clothes to purge.
Bad- I'm tired of being stinky. I pee my pants all day, when I sneeze. Its hot and I'm sweaty and two little girls do not allow me to bathe three times a day. Any other stinky mamas out there?

Happy mama to three DD's age 13To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts., age 10.5 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts., age 8To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.and DS, born January 6 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

The bad: I am having huge nesting instincts that I can't let myself fall into quite yet because I really have to finish an online class and my time is running out so I have to spend every spare moment trying to focus on that. So... I just have my list of things to do floating around in my head constantly, driving me crazy! I also can't really concentrate on anything, including writing, and writing is what keeps me sane.... my ribs are killing me and so is my left hip, which was doing better for a while but now is excruciating again. Not much sleep for me at night!

the good: my dd is adorable and births her dolls daily, it is so precious. my dh is being much more supportive and loving than he has been the entire pregnancy, finally!!! so that is wonderful, especially since I am getting weepy about everything again. The weather is beautiful here right now, another great plus after all the intense heat.

I have my first appointment with my midwife tomorrow. I am feeling really good about my decision to leave my OB and feeling confident in birth again.

I've recommitted myself to doing some yoga and exercises.

Friday is my last day at the office! woo hoo! and then we're off to visit friends in Minnesota for a week.

Good & Bad - DH has been working late, which means no TV on. Hooray! I'm enjoying the quiet and it is encouraging me to do my exercises.

The Bad - I haven't officially told my OB that I left her. I cancelled my last appointment and faxed in a form for my records to be sent to my midwife. I did leave a message for her and she called me a few times, but all bad times for me to talk as I was at the office with NO privacy whatsoever. So I feel bad that I haven't told her.

The good: I bought more cloth diapers....NB ones which are soooooo small!! They are Kissaluvs and I love them!!! Going to buy more once the baby is here. Now I can pack the babies bag to take with me to the hospital!!! Also I have been getting some organzing done...would like to get more done but at least I have a good start!! My 6 year old started grade one!!! It is lonely without her but at the same time nice to have time for my 3 year old!! DH wants me to hire a cleaning lady once a week to clean the bathrooms and clean the floors!! No objections to that!! Everytime I mop my laminate floors I feel like I am having contractions!!

The bad: Super tired but can't get comfortable enough to sleep, also if it isn't the dog barking to get out for a pee at 3 in the morning then it is my ds up at 4 in the morning with a nightmare (has always had them since very very little) and if it isn't them waking me up then it is my DD up early at 6 am excitied for school...lol!! I guess they are all training me for when the baby comes!! He hee!! Can't get over this fear of something terrible happening to me, the baby or something bad happening with the delivery. I do feel a little better about it because I posted it here and I am sure it is third child syndrome, but I can't help but still be worried! Gotta read more happy birth stories!

The Ugly: ME!! lol....I have just been feeling pretty gross lately....i look drained and tired and i have pimples coming all over my face and i feel fat!! I know i am pregnant and who cares but when dh was home last (which isn't very often because he works away) he didn't seem to have any interest in me or the baby....he did work 5 weeks straight, 12 hour days, very strenuous work so i know he was tired when he got home but.....i just felt unwanted!

Anyway, doesn't feel good to end on a bad note so Happy pregnancies to everyone!!! Only 10 weeks left for me to go!!!! YIPPEE!!!

Good and Bad (I can't decide! ).... I spent *too much money* on cloth diapers. Damn, the fluff addiction is just too much! Ok, part of the reason it's a lot is that dh insists on all new items, no used CDs on baby's bottom, and that I decided to buy a bunch of medium sizes, especially the fuzzi bunz before the sept. price hike that's coming up. Then I started reading more about EC and realized that if I do that, I won't even *need* that many cloth diapers! So anyway, I think I'll just use as few as I can and then save the rest--if I don't end up needing them, I'll sell them off. Plus DH was a bit ticked that I bought so many CDs without even discussing it with him (he's been a little iffy on the CD issue). Oh well, since it was my own personal savings I spent it didn't bother him too too much.

But....I get so excited when I see ds's future fluff! And I do feel like I'm doing the right thing for us by at least giving it a try. I think after dh realizes that he doesn't have to buy dipes and I'm doing all the laundry anyway, he won't give a fig.

Just plain 'ol Bad: The school principal that dh and I used to work for and who really helped us settle down here in tampa when we moved just lost her 4 year old to a drowning accident. I was soo disturbed for the first few days afterwards, I couldn't even comprehend how someone could handle the loss of their young child (esp. since all her other kids are grown up). It's so much more difficult to see this while pregnant b/c it hits home that hey, I'm practically a mama too, now. to any mamas here who have lost a child...after seeing my friend's pain I feel so much more for all who have suffered a loss.

Good: Received a bag full of CDs from freecycle, math book for DS arrived, found out OB is a member of the multiples group I am going to attend, and I think I have decided on which sling(s) to buy. Oh! And I got a King sized bed!

Bad: NSTs are awful anyway, but why do they insist you lie flat on your back with 40lbs crushing your spine? I nearly passed out so I turned over, readjusted the rediculously tight straps, and got a much better reading than the nurse. I think I ticked her off. We have to pull up a carpet and sand the floor so we can stop sleeping in the living room.

The Good: I had my appointment with my midwife and my sugars came in at a very nice 5.2. As the time was counting down I actually started to sweat, fearing it was going to be something insane like 8.7. Blood pressure was fine and nothing worrisome showed up in my pee. Big relief. She tried to hear the heartbeat but no dice, baby did kick her in the head three times though. The baby is/was laying sideways and is an "average" sized baby-I was a bit scared she would say it was a BIG baby. From about 5 months on last pregnancy they kept telling me how big the baby was.

Dd is loving her dagis (daycare in Eng) and making friends. It's also a great way for me to get some exercise whether I want to or not.

I was directed to a children's second hand shop that's just outside the city. A friend and I went this week and it is unbelievably great! Second hand shops here in Stockholm are still expensive-no garbage bag sales here! I went to the store and spent approx. 80USD and easily could have spent double that amount. The next great thing was that dh didn't even bat an eyelash when I told him how much I spent. Wooooooooo! Plans made to go back in a few weeks time.

The Bad: The head of the hospital we wanted to give birth in has refused my application to have Diane (my mw) deliver the baby. She told me at our second meeting that we could pay to have her there and I would have a homebirth experience in a hospital setting and it was exactly what I wanted. Now that's a no go. He said given my medical history I was denied. : I can still deliver in that hospital but not with her-if I want her then it has to be a homebirth. And as much as I would love to have a homebirth I really have to be practical and admit that a hospital birth would be best at this point. Save the homebirth for next time. Now we have to scout hospitals and see where we want to go. Argh.

I've gained 8kg. Diane told me that I should aim to gain only 6-8kg this pregnancy due to my.....curvy pre-pregnancy self. I really only have myself to blame for the gain as I have been eating pretty crap food lately and craving the sweet stuff. And you haven't seen temptation until you've seen the bakery cabinet at my local grocery store. And since it is baked there sometimes the whole store smells like pastries. :

My house is completely filthy. Filthy. I've been nesting a bit but I keep finding things to do that aren't noticable unless I point them out. And dh hasn't done much to help out housework wise all week. Maybe I should get off the computer and clean up now.

Good: My parents are back from holidays and my dad was great at providing emotional support yesterday. He even came to see me at work!

I received a $200 gift certificate for Babies R’ Us from my work on Monday!

Bad: I am having a tough time with pain on my left ribs. Nothing seems to help except for lying down. I have tried putting an ice pack on them and this only helps a little. I have cried this past week many times because it gets so painful that I can’t take it! The pain is making work difficult and I am thinking about leaving earlier than planned. I had to lie down on the floor about five times on Tuesday! I don’t want to leave until October but it is just too much for me right now. Every day is a challenge at this point.

The Good: the weather seems to be cooling down some. I don't like summer much and especially don't like it when I'm pregnant. We actually made it to our homeschool park day this week and the kids and I really needed the break and interaction with our friends!!! This baby is moving a lot and the movements are strong. Also her/his heart beat has been very strong and steady!!!

The Bad: I have gotten nauseas a few nights in a row now and hoping that isn't something that is going to happen every night until I have this baby.
I haven't been sleeping well AGAIN, ugh. I can't seem to get comfortable and stay asleep long. My house is a wreck and I really want to do a really deep cleaning but just don't have the energy.

The bad: Cleaning out the potty made me hurl in the bathroom sink. Which I now have to clean out, after finishing the potty cleaning. Luckily, all I'd had to eat so far was a plum, so it's not all that horrible. But still, the indignity!

Mama to DD : (7/23/03) & DS : (10/27/06) married to DH 7/20/01and yet 90% more mainstream than the rest of MDC